UglyDolls
| runtime = 87 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $45–53 millionVerhoeven, Beatrice; Williams, Trey (April 23, 2019). "10 Riskiest, Priciest Summer Movie Gambles, From ‘Dark Phoenix’ to ‘Detective Pikachu’". TheWrap. Retrieved April 23, 2019. | gross = $26.5 million"UglyDolls (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 23, 2019. }} UglyDolls is a 2019 American computer-animated musical comedy film directed by Kelly Asbury and written by Alison Peck, from a story by Robert Rodriguez, who also produced. It is based on the plush toys of the same name, and follows a group of them as they try to find embracement from the real world despite their flaws. The film stars the voices of Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monáe, Pitbull, Blake Shelton, Wanda Sykes, Gabriel Iglesias, Wang Leehom, Emma Roberts, Bebe Rexha, Charli XCX, and Lizzo. UglyDolls was theatrically released in the United States on May 3, 2019, by STX Entertainment, the first computer-animated feature to be produced and it has grossed just $26 million worldwide against a budget of at least $45 million, and received generally unfavorable reviews, with critics calling it "well-meaning but derivative".Fujitani, Ryan (May 2, 2019). "Long Shot is Certified Fresh". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 3, 2019. Plot In a hidden universe, dolls are given anthropomorphism and are chosen for a single special kid. However, dolls that are deformed get thrown into the remote town of Uglyville, where everyone is happy and at peace. Among the dolls in Uglyville is an idealistic and optimistic doll named Moxy (Kelly Clarkson), who dreams of the 'Big World' and getting chosen to be with a child ("Today's the Day"/"Couldn't Be Better"), despite the fact that Uglyville's Mayor Ox (Blake Shelton) keeps on telling her that it is a myth. After inadvertently getting advice from the shy village 'wiseman' Lucky Bat (Wang Leehom), she decides to enter the hole where new Ugly Dolls are dropped off from to see if it leads to the Big World with the help of Lucky Bat and her other friends, easy-going Ugly Dog (Pitbull), cynical baker Wage (Wanda Sykes), and strong, soft-spoken Babo (Gabriel Iglesias). Going through the tunnel, Moxy and her friends soon end up at the Institute of Perfection ("Today's the (Perfect) Day") where human dolls go through a number of tests, culminating in an obstacle course based on a human house called the Gauntlet, to be with their perfect child. The Institute's leader, a suave yet superficial adorable perfect doll named Louis (Nick Jonas) soon meets the Ugly Dolls ("The Ugly Truth"), but states that they cannot participate in the Gauntlet since they fall short of the standards needed for it, but Moxy's optimism coerces Louis to let them participate. As they settle in one of the institute dorms, they are visited and befriended by another perfect doll named Mandy (Janelle Monáe), who is more accepting of the Ugly Dolls and has poor eyesight, but she refuses to wear glasses to be labelled as 'imperfect'. The Ugly Dolls' first few days of training for the Gauntlet ("You Make My Dreams") ends up disastrous as they are constantly put in a small washing machine for the slightest of messes. Eventually, they decide to try and dress up like the perfect dolls to have a better chance at going to the Big World ("All Dolled Up"). Louis sends the Spy Girls, a trio of ruthless female perfect dolls consisting of Tuesday (Bebe Rexha), Kitty (Charli XCX), and Lydia (Lizzo), to kidnap Ox and make him confess that he and Louis used to be friends who trained for the Gauntlet until apparently Ox fell short of the standards, resulting in him being banished to Uglyville and making him decide to keep the Big World a secret from his fellow Ugly Dolls to protect them from being judged since they were rejected from going to the Big World. Moxy, completely demoralized, decides to abandon her quest for the Big World and return to Uglyville. Back at Uglyville, every resident of Uglyville falls into a state of depression after the events of Moxy's adventure is disseminated. As Moxy decides to resign herself to a lifetime of sadness and self-loathing, Mandy visits her and convinces her that it doesn't matter what Louis says about her or any other Ugly Doll since she believed that there was a child for her in the Big World ("Unbreakable"). With her confidence renewed, Moxy decides to be in the Gauntlet after all, but she and Mandy are kidnapped by the Spy Girls on orders from Louis to put them in a recycling bin underneath Uglyville, which is basically a death trap. As Moxy and Mandy try to escape, the rest of the Ugly Dolls come to their rescue and they head to the institute to compete in the Gauntlet, much to the surprise, and chagrin, of Louis. As the Ugly Dolls advanced through the challenges, Ugly Dog distracts a robotic dog to help the other Ugly Dolls; this encourages Louis to repeatedly try to sabotage Moxy and make her avoid crossing the finish line, to no success. As they near the finish line, Louis and Moxy are stopped by a robotic baby. Louis makes the baby cry after kicking it in the face, which makes every single Perfect doll (including the Spy Girls) turn on Louis after watching the whole scene from the stadium screen, prompting an empathetic Moxy to forgot finishing the competition to comfort the crying baby. Louis crosses the finish line, but Moxy is dubbed the winner for making a child happy, which is a doll's true purpose. Even though Louis crossed the finish line, he failed because he is revealed that he is actually a 'prototype', which isn't supposed to go to the 'Big World' and he was the reason for the standards. Raged that he will never be loved despite being the 'perfect' doll, he uses a giant knitting needle intending on destroying the portal to the Big World, despite Ox's attempts to stop him; but Louis ends up getting beaten up by Lucky Bat, where upon Babo and Wage get their hands on Louis and throw him to the robotic dog. When Louis pleads for another chance, he is thrown into the same washing machine that he tormented Moxy and her friends with by Nolan as Louis’s punishment. Afterwards, the Ugly Dolls and the Perfect Dolls fix the portal, make peace, and merge their hometowns to create the town of Imperfection ("The Big Finale"). Moxy finally gets to go through the portal, where she is put into the arms of her special kid, a little girl named Addison, who is revealed to have an imperfect mouth like Moxy's, much to her elation. During the credits ("Broken & Beautiful"), the Ugly Dolls, Mandy, and the Spy Girls are shown to have found their own special kid who have similar characteristics as them, while Louis, whose hair becomes spiky and flawed and whose suit of his had been shrunk from the washing machine, is demoted to janitorial duty while being overseen by the robotic dog. Cast * Kelly Clarkson as Moxy, the leader of the group. She has insatiable curiosity, limitless confidence and the ability to make others feel great about exactly who they are, but she's also looking for something more. * Nick Jonas as Louis "Louis”, the mean and preppy leader from the town of Perfection, a bully towards the UglyDolls and the other imperfect dolls, a prototype (meaning that "he is not a real doll" as mentioned by Lydia, one of the Spy Girls) model and a former friend of Ox. * Janelle Monáe as Mandy, a lonely perfect doll who wears glasses for eyesight problems and befriends the UglyDolls. * Blake Shelton as Ox, the Unofficial Mayor of Uglyville, mentor to all of the other UglyDolls and former friend of Lou. * Pitbull as Ugly Dog, a one-eyed dog and Moxy's closest and best friend.Alexander, Bryan (November 4, 2018). "'UglyDolls' first trailer: Watch Kelly Clarkson's wonderfully weird Moxy in animated movie". USA Today. Retrieved May 1, 2018. * Wanda Sykes as Wage, a baker who can be frequently found cooking up some amazing and inventive culinary concoctions. * Wang Leehom as Lucky Bat, a wise and thoughtful bat-like adviser, but he's a little insecure about his abilities. * Gabriel Iglesias as Babo, the largest, soft-spoken and handiest of the UglyDolls. * Emma Roberts as Wedgehead, the newest citizen of Uglyville.Wiseman, Andreas (October 8, 2018). "Emma Roberts Joins STX Animation 'UglyDolls' With Kelly Clarkson & Blake Shelton". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 8, 2018. * Bebe Rexha as Tuesday, a blue-haired perfect doll and one of the Spy Girls. * Charli XCX as Kitty, a pink-haired perfect doll and one of the Spy Girls. * Lizzo as Lydia, a purple-haired perfect doll and one of the Spy Girls. * Ice-T as Peggy, a small one-eyed flying unicorn. * Laura Nicole Harrison as Jumbotron * Jane Lynch as Scanner, Electronic Voice * Kelly Asbury as Gibberish Cat, Oliver, Chef, Buttons * Natalie Martinezas Meghan * Stephen Zimpel as Michael * Enrique Santos as Nolan, a not-so-perfect doll that Lou called Ugly in "The Ugly Song." * Rob Riggle as Exposition Robot * Steven Schweickart as New Arrival * Afi Ekulona as Tray * Jacques Colimon as Sporko Production In May 2011, it was announced that Illumination had acquired the rights to Uglydolls to make an animated feature film. Chris Meledandri was set to produce, with a screenplay from Larry Stuckey. The original creators, David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, were set to executive produce.Fleming, Mike (May 26, 2011). [http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/chris-meledandris-illumination-to-turn-uglydoll-into-animated-film/ "Chris Meledandri's Illumination To Turn Uglydoll Into Animated Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 16, 2017. Four years later, in 2015, Variety magazine reported that an animated film based on Uglydolls would be the first project produced by STX Entertainment's new "family and animation" division.Lang, Brent (May 28, 2015). "STX Entertainment Plans Uglydoll Film, Launches Family Division (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. August 16, 2017. On March 28, 2017, Robert Rodriguez signed on to direct, write, and produce the film, with a release date set for May 10, 2019.Khatchatourian, Maane (March 28, 2017). "Robert Rodriguez to Direct ‘Ugly Dolls’ Animated Film for STX". Variety. Retrieved August 16, 2017. Animation is being provided by Reel FX Creative Studios."Why Hollywood Can't Stop Making Films About Lego, Emojis, And Angry Birds". Cartoon Brew. August 14, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2018. In March 2018, it was announced that the voice of rapper Pitbull would be featured in the film for an unknown role, and he would also provide an original song for the film.McNary, Dave (March 13, 2018). "Pitbull Joining STX's Animated UglyDolls Movie". Variety]. Retrieved June 18, 2018. In May 2018, it was announced that Kelly Asbury had signed on to direct the feature film.Donnelly, Matt (May 23, 2018). "STX Sets 'Uglydolls' Animated Series, Feature Streaming Deal at Hulu". TheWrap. Retrieved June 18, 2018. In July 2018, another singer Kelly Clarkson joined the voice cast of the film as the voice of Moxy, and will provide an original song for the filmHipes, Patrick (July 11, 2018). "Kelly Clarkson To Lead Voice Cast Of STX’s ‘Uglydolls’ Movie". Deadline. Retrieved July 11, 2018. In August 2018, Nick Jonas joined the voice cast of the film, and he would also perform an original song for the film.D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 29, 2018). "Nick Jonas Joins The Band For STX’s ‘UglyDolls’ Movie". Deadline. Retrieved August 29, 2018. In September 2018, comedians Wanda Sykes and Gabriel Iglesias joined the film.McNary, Dave (September 12, 2018). "Wanda Sykes, Gabriel Iglesias Join Animated Feature 'UglyDolls'". Variety. Retrieved September 12, 2018. On September 20, 2018, it was announced that country music singer Blake Shelton had joined the film, and will voice Ox, as well as performing original music.Galuppo, Mia (September 20, 2018). "Blake Shelton Joins Kelly Clarkson in 'UglyDolls' Movie". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 20, 2018. In October 2018, it was announced that Wang Leehom, Janelle Monáe and Emma Roberts had been cast in the film.Kroll, Justin (October 2, 2018). "Janelle Monae Joins Harriet Tubman Biopic and 'UglyDolls' Voice Cast (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 2, 2018. Music The film features original music from Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Blake Shelton, Janelle Monáe, Bebe Rexha, Pentatonix, Anitta, and Why Don't We. The musical score is composed by Christopher Lennertz while songs are written by Lennertz and Glenn Slater. The film's soundtrack was released by Atlantic Records."‘UglyDolls’ Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved March 20, 2019. Clarkson's track "Broken & Beautiful" was released prior to the album, on March 27, 2019, as the soundtrack's lead single.Acevedo, Angelica (March 27, 2019). "'UglyDolls' Soundtrack Features New Music From Nick Jonas, Kelly Clarkson & More: See Track List". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2019. Anitta's track "Ugly" was also released prior to the album's release, including a Portuguese version titled "Feia" not featured on the album.Atlantic Records (April 11, 2019). ''Anitta - Ugly (Feia) (Portuguese Version) [Official Visualizer, retrieved April 15, 2019. Track Listing Notes *' ' signifies an additional producer Charts Release UglyDolls was initially scheduled to be released on May 10, 2019, but was later moved up a week to May 3, in order to avoid competition with Pokémon: Detective Pikachu.D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 13, 2018). "STX's 'UglyDolls' To Launch First Weekend Of May". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media, LLC. The studio spent around $40 million on promotions and advertisements for the film. Reception Box office As of June 23, 2019, Uglydolls has grossed $20.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $6.4 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $26.5 million."UglyDolls (2019)". The Numbers]. Retrieved June 23, 2019. In the United States and Canada, UglyDolls was released alongside The Intruder and Long Shot, and was projected to gross $12–14 million from 3,652 theaters in its opening weekend.Fuster, Jeremy (April 30, 2019). "‘Avengers: Endgame’ Eyes Another Super-Powered Box Office Haul in 2nd Weekend". TheWrap. Retrieved April 30, 2019. The film made $2.5 million on its first day, including $300,000 from Thursday night previews. It ended up underperforming, debuting to just $8.6 million and finishing fourth.D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 4, 2019). "’Avengers: Endgame’ Mows Down ‘Long Shot’, ‘Intruder’ & ‘UglyDolls’ With $146M+ Second Weekend, Crosses $600M In Record Time". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 4, 2019. The film fell 51.8% in its second weekend, grossing $4.1 million and finishing in seventh.D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 12, 2019). "‘Pokemon Detective Pikachu’ Grabs $58M In ‘Endgame’ Dominated Universe; Marvel Pic 3rd Highest Domestic With $724M+ – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2019. Critical response The film holds an approval rating of 28% based on 67 reviews, and an average rating of 4.36/10 on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The website's critical consensus reads, "Very young viewers may be entertained by UglyDolls, if only because they're less likely to recognize the many familiar elements in its affirmative yet formulaic story.""UglyDolls (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 26, 2019. Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 40 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews"."UglyDolls (2019) reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved Nay 3, 2019. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and a 51% "definite recommend". Owen Gleiberman of ''Variety'' magazine said that "the sincerity with which UglyDolls pits unblemished conformity against ungainly soul is touching—and, yes, instructive—in all the right ways."Gleiberman, Owen (May 1, 2019). "Film Review: 'UglyDolls'". Variety]. Retrieved May 1, 2019. Conversely, Jesse Hassenger of The A.V. Club gave the film a grade C− and writes: "Like their Troll ancestors, the UglyDolls combine an evergreen cuteness with a why-now lack of currency."Hassenger, Jesse (May 1, 2019). "Leave UglyDolls on the shelf". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 1, 2019. References External links * [https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1946502/ UglyDolls] on IMDb * Official website Category:Films